Demons and Angels
by darklightningdevil
Summary: Sakura's unsigned band, Fallen Angels, enters a Battle of the Bands competition to win a record deal. But with new friends, old enemies, and hot competition, will love get in the way? GaaraXSakura & other pairings
1. Chapter 1

***Sakura Narrating***

_Sakura's Thoughts_

_**Inner Sakura**_

_**Stupid, arrogant, selfish, stuck up, lying, cheating BASTARD!!!!!**_

Haphazardly stepping over an amp and a few stray wires, chai tea in hand, Sakura couldn't help but smile a bit at the ranting of her inner mind. She had a point though, he was a bastard.

_He_, as in Uchiha Sasuke. Her boyfriend.

_**EX-boyfriend! **_

Yes. Ex-boyfriend.

Let's take a look shall we?

**Name? Haruno Sakura. **

**Basic Info? Female, 17, pink hair. **

**Education? Junior in Konoha High. **

**Current Occupation? Lead Singer of the popular-yet-still-unsigned Fallen Angels. Oh and she has a part time job at the Starbucks in Barnes & Noble.**

**Relationship Status? ****In a relationship.**** Single. **

**Random Fact(s)? She talks to a voice in her head. And the voice responds. Isn't that called insanity?**

"Sakura?! Sound check in five!" a voice yelled from backstage.

"Coming!" Sakura yelled back to the girl off stage.

**Name? Ten Ten.{no last name as far as this narrator knows}**

**Basic Info? Female, 18, brown hair.**

**Education? Senior at Konoha High**

**Current Occupation? Drummer of Fallen Angels and the girl who offers free samples of perfume to unwilling ****victims ****customers at department stores.**

**Relationship Status? Single.**

**Random Fact(s)? She has a fetish for sharp objects. Beware.**

As Sakura walked back into her 'dressing room'--which looked more like a utility closet then anything- she saw the rest of her merry gang of band mates smiling and laughing with each other.

Che! Yeah right!

What actually happened was more like this:

"HINATA! Have you seen my shoe?! I could have _sworn _I left it by the couch…" the tall blonde of the group yelled to the shorter black haired girl tuning her guitar, then muttered to herself as she began to take apart the couch, looking for her shoe.

**Name? Yamanaka Ino.**

**Basic Info? Female, 17, blonde hair.**

**Education? Junior at Konoha High.**

**Current Occupation? Keyboardist of Fallen Angels and works part time at her parents flower shop.**

**Random Fact(s): My best friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend-again…. Does that even make sense? **

"OWW! Ino! Don't throw the couch cushions at me! I'm tuning over here! Geeze- HEY! You did that on purpose!!!" Hinata shouted at Ino, who had found her shoe, and subsequently chucked it at Hinata's head before snickering at her exclamation of pain.

**Name? Hyuga Hinata.**

**Basic Info: Female, 17, black/indigo hair.**

**Education? Junior at Konoha High.**

**Current Occupation? Guitarist for Fallen Angels. She has no part time job because her family is kinda-sorta-filthy-rich…**

Sakura grinned at their antics before attempting to get their attention, "Guys! We-"

"Oh it's on Yamanaka." The pale eyed girl muttered as she set her guitar out of harm's way.

"Bring it Hyuga!" Ino yelled back as Hinata lunged at her, the two getting into a mock cat fight.

The pinkette sighed and shook her head. Glancing at the bun headed drummer, hoping for backup, she was sadly disappointed. Ten Ten was walking around the room, looking in every nook and cranny, muttering: "Where the HELL did I put it…"

Did I mention that Ten Ten had a habit of losing her drumsticks? Well she does.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura yelled "GUYS!!!"

All three froze and turned to face the girl. Blowing a strand of pink hair from in front of her eyes she told them;

"We have a sound check in about…"she glanced at the clock "Two minutes and forty seconds".

That got them moving.

Sakura just leaned back and grinned as they all jumped and ran around the room like madwomen, collecting their things.

"I FOUND IT!!!" Ino yelled, and hopped past Sakura as she slipped on her shoe.

"Ten Ten… Your drumsticks are in your hair…" Hinata intoned as she hoisted her guitar over her shoulder before gliding out the doorway. Ten Ten's mouth formed a small O shape as she reached up to her buns and pulled out the sticks.

"GOT 'EM!" she shouted as she ran to catch up with the other two.

Sakura smiled to herself as she took a quick glance at the mirror.

Bright pink hair--natural, thankyouverymuch-- cut just above shoulders and layered with bangs framing emerald green eyes. Nodding once in approval, she spun on her heel and ran to catch up with the others. Seeing them standing on the stage, ready for the sound check, she took a final gulp of tea and threw the cup in a nearby trash can, not missing a single stride.

Dodging the wires on the floor, Sakura skidded to a stop in front of the mic. Nodding to the light crew in the back, she flicked the mic twice before bringing it to her lips.

"Testing! Testing! This is Haruno Sakura testing the microphone!" she spoke jokingly into the mic. Her band mates grinned at her, rolling their eyes.

"WHOO! GO SAKURA!!!" Ino yelled, pumping her fist in the air from behind her keyboard. Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes at her. What are best friends for right?

The spotlight beaming in her eyes, Sakura looked at the banner overhead.

**BATTLE OF THE BANDS **– is what it read

Yes, Haruno Sakura and her band- okay, maybe not HER band, but you get the point- Fallen Angels are participating in a Battle of the Bands contest.

"Doors open in five!!! Let's get moving people!!!" Jiraya, the owner of **Shinobi Records**, and the club hosting the contest exclaimed as he climbed on the stage and spoke into a second mic.

Sakura would have never thought this day would come, she was never one for public competitions; but the prize _was _a record deal, so what the hey? Where's the harm in trying?

"Are all of the bands here?" he questioned a nervous stage hand, who then checked a clipboard.

"Umm… It seems that Bijuu has yet to arrive…"

**SLAM! **

Hearing the loud metallic bang as the side door was slammed open, Sakura's head—and everyone else's—spun to face the newcomers.

Maybe she should have rethought playing in the Battle of the Bands after all….

!^!_____!^!

**A RANT FROM : SAKURA**

***You know that feeling that people describe in all those novels and stuff? When their heart stops when they see their soul mate/lover/everyday hottie? For example, ahem!**

_When the strong, handsome Rodrigo stepped boldly into the sunlight, Marianne's fragile heart stopped for a few seconds and her face blushed crimson._

……**.**

**Note to self: cross romance novelist off of list of future career choices. Yup, definitely not.**

**But I digress. About that feeling…**

**It HURTS!**

**But I should probably explain, shouldn't I?***

!^!_____!^!

Four teenagers who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen walked in. After them came a tall silver haired man with hair they defied gravity, a mask pulled up to just under his eyes with an eye patch covering his left one.

Sakura placed the mic back in its stand and watched the newcomers as they walked over to the man with the clipboard.

The boy in front had blonde spiky-to-the-extreme hair and the brightest smile that Sakura had ever seen. Scratch that, it was more of a grin, and a fox-like one at that. Dark, yet faded jeans hung low on his hips and a bright orange shirt poked out from beneath a black jacket.

The second boy looked like he would rather be sleeping then walking into a battle of the bands contest. Spiky brown hair that reminded Sakura of a pineapple stuck out at odd angles as he trudged along behind the hyper blonde. He was wearing a brown shirt and black pants, a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose, hiding drowsy eyes despite the fact that the club is dim.

The third looked slightly older than the rest, being a good inch or so taller. He has a regal air about him, as he gazed about the room with all-knowing pale eyes. He was wearing black pants with a plain white shirt snug on his frame.

The last boy [[if you could call any of them _boys_] was the cause of her so-called-heart-stopping-yet-highly-painful-moment. Black, baggy pants with chains crisscrossing every now and then covered the lower half of his lithe frame. A dark red band tee – so faded that she couldn't make out the band name – clung tightly to his chest, but was covered by a black hoodie. His hood was up, effectively covering his face and hair from the curious pinkette.

"KAKASHI!!! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in _ages_!!!" Jiraya yelled joyfully as he waved at the silver-haired man with the mask. "Come!" he said, ushering Kakashi to one of the back rooms, "We have _much _to discuss…".

Sakura could have sworn she heard the words Icha Icha Paradise and perverted giggling coming from behind the closed door.

The man with the clipboard, whose name Sakura did not know, looked around flustered, before signing in the band.

"N-names please?"

Nervous little thing isn't he?

"UZUMAKI NARUTO!!! DATTEBAYO!"

"…" Yawn. THWACK. "Nara Shikamaru..."

"Hyuga Neji" At that name, the three girls heads snapped to Hinata and she just blushed nervously and shrugged. Her confidence disappears when she's around her family.

Turning back to face the small group just off-stage, Sakura glanced back just in time for the last boy to take off his hood.

Blood red, semi-spiky hair hung over bright sea-foam green eyes that stood out against pale skin.

"Sabaku no Gaara..." the low voice muttered, just loud enough for Sakura to hear. His head turned in her direction.

Emeralds met oceans.

Thump-thump-thump……..

Cue painful-heart-stopping-moment.

He looked away.

….._THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!!!!!_

_What the hell….?!_

Sakura blinked rapidly, turning away and trying to get her bearings. A crimson blush spread across her face like wild fire.

_WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!_

Finally reeling in her blush, she turned to face her band mates, who were looking at her, eyebrows raised. Rolling her eyes and shrugging softly, she walked towards the front of the stage, her friends following her to scope out the competition.

"Ahahaha!" a loud bout of laughter interrupts the girls' observations as the two men return from the back room. Noticing them standing at the edge of the stage, Jiraya's face breaks into an even bigger grin.

"Fallen Angels! How are my favorite girls doing?" he hollered as they hopped down from the stage.

Now, everyone knows Jiraya as the infamous pervert, but Sakura grew up knowing him and he didn't flirt with her OR her friends (or face the wrath of Tsunade!!!)

"'Ello!" Sakura responded, grinning, all thoughts of the red-head gone for a moment, she turned to face the newcomers, "I'm Sakura, this is Ten Ten, Hinata and Ino-pig" she introduced in turn.

"Grrr…. Forehead-girl!!!" Ino yelled, mock-angrily, glomping a laughing Sakura from behind.

"Angels, this is Bijuu! You guys are going to compete against each other, so you might as well get to know each other!"

….

Silence greeted his words as neither band made a move to speak first.

"Um… How should we do this…? AHA! Gaara, Sakura, come here!" he said, motioning for them to step forward. They both did, cautious as to what they were doing.

"Sakura, this is Gaara. Gaara, this is Sakura."

Silence.

"Well? Shake hands or something!"

Gaara let out a scoff and turned away from her.

Motioning at his band, he introduced them.

"Naruto," a wave and a bright grin.

"Shikamaru," a yawn and a slight wave.

"Neji." A curt, emotionless nod.

"Nice to meet you guys," Ten Ten said, saving Sakura from another awkward silence.

"Yeah! Same here!!!" yelled Naruto.

"C'mon guys, we have some forms to sign," their manager, Kakashi, said as he led them away.

Wait…

"THEY HAVE A MANAGER?!"

Ino's shriek spoke all of their thoughts. Wasn't this an unsigned band contest? Well you don't really need a manager to be unsigned… But still!

Hinata stepped forward and raised her hand.

"I say that we get a manager."

Ten Ten raised her hand too, "I second that, their gonna be tough competition…"

"HELL YES!" Ino yelled, pumping her fist in the air.

All three looked at Sakura, who was deep in thought. The pinkette slowly started to smile as she raised her hand.

"I think I know who we can get…"

!^!_____!^!

"Are you sure about this Sakura… This place looks kinda sketchy…" Ten Ten muttered as they stood on a rickety porch near the west side of town. Glancing around, she saw that the street was empty, and it gave her an eerie feeling.

"Yeah, I used to come here all the time when I was a kid," Sakura said, turning back from the door she was knocking on to flash them a grin, before returning her pounding on the door.

"Anko! ANKO! I know you're in there! Open the door!!!"

No answer.

"Maybe we should just go Sakura, we can always ask someone els-" Hinata started.

"ANKO GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!!!" Sakura shouted as she banged on the door furiously.

Her friends sweatdropped at her behavior, but they were used to it by then.

"Ughh! You're going to make me do this the hard way aren't you?" Sakura huffed.

Recieving no answer, she sighed and reached down to the flowerpot resting by the door,-

"Sakura, what are you planning to do with that-"

- picked up the key that was underneath it and unlocked the door.

….

"THERE WAS A KEY THERE THE WHOLE TIME?!" – Ino.

"SAKURA WE WERE BANGING ON THE DOOR FOR HALF AN HOUR!" – Ten Ten.

"You've got to be kidding me…" – Hinata.

"Ehehe… Opps? Besides, it's more fun this way." Sakura explained as they crossed the threshold into the small-yet-cozy house where Mitarashi Anko resided. She marched purposely to the back room where a figure was buried under a mountain of blankets and stood next to where the figure's ear would likely be.

3

2

1

"AAAAAAANKO!!!!" she yelled.

The bundle let out a high pitched scream as they sat bolt upright, sending blankets everywhere.

A ruffled mess of dark purple hair hung over her face, which she promptly blew away to glare at Sakura.

"What the hell Sakura!?"

Said girl grinned a bit impishly.

"You wanna be our manager?

**DONE! MBB will be coming out soon, followed by ASC!!!!! STAY TUNED**

**Review!! ^__^**


	2. Chapter 2

"So… What exactly does this 'manager' job entail?" Anko asked them, bendy-straw in mouth, sipping her orange ice drink as they walked along 24th Street making their way back to the club. They had stopped at a local café so the girls could get their last caffeine rush before they had to go onstage. Drinks in hand they stopped at a crosswalk, Sakura reaching down to press the small button on the post that would let them cross as she answered.

"Well… It's more to make things official. I mean, Bijuu has a band manager, and they look _really good. _We can't be intimidated them, so we figured we needed a manager too… And that's where you come in!" she finished as she smiled up at Anko. It faltered a bit when she saw the older woman's raised brow, so she decided to take another approach "Besides!" she looked up at her with puppy eyes and a pout that barely concealed her grin "I wanted to spend more time with my favorite Godmother!" she hedged, opening her arms for a hug.

"Haha, no. Besides, I'm your ONLY Godmother," Anko replied as the little walking man symbol turned green and they crossed the street, Anko completely ignoring Sakura's attempted hug. The other four laughed as Sakura huffed slightly and followed them across the road. It wasn't long until her grin returned though. They made their way back, twilight turning to dusk as they reached the back door and greeted the bouncer as they walked to the front of the line of excited clubbers, past the velvet rope and into the club.

* * *

Only to run straight into Jiraya's assistant.

"Girls! Where have you been? The competition starts in fifteen minutes! You were supposed to be here half an hour ago!" he cried hysterically at them as he scurried over to them, clipboard and headset in place, herding them into the large room behind the stage where the rest of the bands waited.

It was packed back there! Through the dim light, Sakura could see the dividing lines between bands though. Each band had their own little section of the room, and if another band member came so much as a foot near _their _space, then it was **GLARE GLARE GLARE **until they went away. The assistant, whose name Sakura learned was Kotetsu, led them to an open spot near the back, which happened to be near the set list. Quickly scanning it, she ran her finger down the paper and counted the named.

There were twelve bands in all, names varying from **The Bone Crushers **to **Orange Peels**. Sakura raised a brow at the strange collection of names on the list. But what caught her attention most was how the names were listed. Each of the bands was paired off with another. The gears of her mind were working on overdrive as she rescanned to find **Fallen Angels**.

**Ember Skies & Marchers Tune**

**Akatsuki & The New Sound**

**Fallen Angels & Bijuu**

AHA! Bingo!

Finding her band name, she glanced to who they were coupled with. Reading the name, she froze. She slowly turned her head in the direction of said band, eyes looking them over, seizing them up.

The pineapple haired boy whose name she couldn't_ quite_ remember was sleeping on a chair, limbs hung precariously and Sakura absently wondered what was keeping him from falling off. Moving on to the blonde boy, she saw him sitting backwards in his chair, laughing loudly. At what, she didn't know. To his right, sitting on the couch, a serious expression on his face was Hinata's cousin. For some reason, his serious expression gave her the shivers, and she _did not _need those right now. Because of that, she moved on to the last member of the band and felt her heartbeat quicken slightly.

He was sitting on one of the many stools provided for the extra band members that the contest was hosting. One knee was propped up on a slightly higher rung than the other, his elbow resting on it and in turn his head rested in his hand. His hood was down, allowing Sakura to see his crimson locks, and the white ear buds that led to the iPod in his other hand. He was gazing at it intently, scrolling through it fixedly, paying no interest in the going ons of the people around him, his fingers tapping almost imperceptibly to the beat only he could hear.

Sakura observed him for a few moments, appreciating the way his black hoodie clung to his frame. Then he froze, causing Sakura to end her observation abruptly. As if sensing her eyes on him, he lifted his gaze from his iPod and scanned the room quickly, searching for the source of the eyes. As they landed on her, he stopped. His eyes flickered down her frame and back up again, quickly, to meet her eyes.

When they did, Sakura quickly flushed at being caught and spun away quickly back to the set list. As she tried to force the blush back, and push all thoughts of the red head out of her mind, Sakura wondered.

_WHY would they have us paired off...? Unless...? No... He wouldn't... _Sakura thought in disbelief as her thoughts came to a screeching halt.

BAM!

One of the rooms big metal doors flew open and banged against the wall, making most jump, and effectively silencing all conversation. Through said door strode Jiraya, arms spread wide with a giant grin on his face.

That was never a good sign.

"WELCOME CONTESTANTS! ALRIGHT! The first annual _Shinobi Records: Battle of the Bands _is about to begin! There are going to four rounds, yes that is FOUR _official_ rounds, plus one introductory round that doesn't count, but it is to establish your style with the audience! Each band gets one song for the intro before we move onto the ACTUAL first round.

"In the first round, six bands will be eliminated; in the second, three, leaving three bands left. One more will be eliminated in the semi-finals, until we have THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN between the best two bands in the finals, leaving us with one winner and they will be the new members of SHINOBI RECORDS!" he exclaimed, pumping everyone up. The room resounded with echoing hoots and hollers, people yelling and pumping up a fist in confidence. He always was charismatic, that Jiraya.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.

"But FIRST! There is a small detail in the first round that I have yet to mention..."

Uh oh...

"For the first round, each band will be paired off with another to perform a duet with a song assigned to you by the judges! Three pairs of bands will be eliminated, so you need to depend on the other band to advance to the next round. On stage, you will be divided by a wall, so if you have any dances or routines (dancing by the way, helps better your score) you'd better get them planned now! You wouldn't want one band to be dancing while their partnering band didn't! Hmm... I think that's it! Your assignments are on the wall," he said, pointing to behind where Sakura was standing, "along with the song you will be performing. Good luck all!" He turned and started out the door, only to turn at the last second and address them again.

"Oh, and you have..." he glanced at a watch hanging on his wrist before looking up with a devilish grin, "five minutes 'till show time."

* * *

He left, and the room was dead silent.

And then it wasn't.

With a flurry of anxious yells and scattering chairs, the whole room was suddenly rushing at Sakura, or more specifically, the list behind her. Letting out a _very _audible "eep!" she quickly turned back towards the list and glanced at the song that **Fallen Angels **was assigned.

Scanning, scanning...

AHA!

**Fallen Angels & Bijuu: PROMISCUOUS (as made famous by Nelly Furtado)**

…

What the hell? That was so completely out of her musical genre that Sakura was stunned for a second as she pondered _why _Jiraya would give them THAT song...

But only for a second.

Sakura was jolted back to reality when she felt about four people run into her at once. Everyone was pushing to see the list, no one caring about the pinkette that was lost in a flurry of arms and legs. She stumbled and fell to the ground after being tripped (read: _shoved_) and quickly covered her head as so not to get trampled.

Suddenly she felt a hand grasp her upper arm and pull her up easily, with what seemed like little or no effort on the part of her rescuer. The person attached to the hand (Sakura had no idea _who _it was) proceeded to lead her through the mob of people, clearing the path easily. After a few seconds they gave her arm a final tug into the open area at the edge of the throng where she saw both the members of **Bijuu **and the members of her own band standing/sitting.

Just as the hand released its firm, but not at all harsh, grasp on her arm, Sakura was surrounded by another death grip of arms, also known as Ino's glomp.

"Sakura! I'm so happy! I though you died!!!" she wailed dramatically as she clung to the pinkette, who merely laughed at her friends words.

"I'm fine _Piggy_, it'll take more than a crazed mob of teenagers to keep me down!" she replied as she flashed a grin at the blonde who promptly let out a screech and let go of Sakura, proceeding to go into a rant about how she never should have wasted her time worrying about _idiotic-pink haired-BIG FORHEADED- lead singers_.

Hinata and Ten Ten, both sitting on a couch across from Hinata's cousin, laughed at the blonde. The boys of **Bijuu **had different reactions.

The blonde foxy boy was laughing at the idiocy of it all. Not that Sakura thought he even knew what the word 'idiocy' meant...

The pineapple haired, sleeping-boy-who-wasn't-sleeping-anymore was rubbing his eyes and looking around, wondering what had woke him up.

Hinata's cousin (KAMI! Sakura made a mental note to learn the boys' names ASAP!) was staring at them incredulously, wondering just _what _they were _doing_.

Sakura then turned to the last boy, who was standing beside her. Sabaku no Gaara. (In the back of her mind, she mused sardonically over how she remembered _his _name.)

With a jolt, Sakura realized that _he _was the one who had pulled her from the crowd.

Attempting to push all awkwardness aside, Sakura turned towards the hoodie-clad boy. "Um... Thanks," she said.

He tilted his head towards her, cyan eyes glowing in the dim light. "For what?" he asked, his voice gravelly.

A blush stained her cheeks. _"For what" he says... _"For, you know... Pulling me out of the crowd..." she finished lamely, not sure of what to say.

He just gave her a half shrug as he turned away saying "You'd already seen the list. I didn't feel like pushing my way through-" he nodded his head in the direction of the throng of people. "-that."

Her mouth formed a small 'O' of understanding as he walked away. It made enough sense, she supposed. She watched him as he pulled a chair from another band's 'space'. (Uh oh, she thought, it was gonna be **GLARE GLARE GLARE **later, thought she absently wondered if anyone would dare to mess with the red headed teen.) He then dragged it to the side of the small coffee table in between the two couches and sat, not looking at her once.

Seeing that everyone was sitting around the small table but her, she quickly followed Gaara's lead and grabbed a chair from another band's area. (Screw them, they can **GLARE GLARE GLARE **all they want, it won't affect her... Okay, maybe a little...) Pulling it up, she sat to the left of Hinata and to the right of the non-sleeping-sleeping-boy, Shika-something...

Abruptly the blonde boy sitting diagonally across from her in his chair next to Gaara grinned and addressed her.

"Hey Sakura-chan! I heard we're working together and Hinata-chan says you're the one who plans all the dancing stuff!" he shot a grin at the indigo haired girl who blushed furiously and let out a small squeak. Not noticing her embarrassment, he turned back to Sakura. "So, any ideas?" he asked cheerfully.

The pink haired girl was a bit shocked to say the least. And, yep, there was a bit of panic thrown in there as well. She had to come up with a COMPLETE DANCE ROUTINE in...

She glanced at the clock.

Two minutes and 17 seconds!

* * *

While the forefront of her mind focused on the task at hand, the back of her mind wondered _how _they knew their bands were working together_. She _hadn't told them, that was for sure... so that left...

With an imaginary PING! her mind connected the dots.

Gaara! So he hadn't needed to save me! He WANTED to!!!

_FOCUS Sakura, FOCUS!!!! _

So she pushed the confusing thoughts of the redheaded enigma to a box in the back of her mind for later analysis.

"Okay guys," she said, leaning in over the table as the others followed suit, "Here's the plan..."

* * *

"**I'm on my way...**"

The last guitar chords faded off as the crowd burst into applause at **Akatsuki's **rendition of _On My Way (as made famous by __**Billy Boy On Poison**_). The members, there were five guys, were... _Odd _to say the least. The lead singer was a tall, slim blonde who looked eerily similar to Ino, the bassist was HUGE! Easily over six feet with... was that BLUE skin? Ugh. Sakura's mouth half smiled as she saw that Itachi was on guitar. She liked him MUCH more than his chicken-ass-lookalike of a brother. The keyboardist made Sakura do a double take. He was wearing a black shirt with a scorpion on the front and could EASILY pass as Gaara's brother. Glancing at said red head, she made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Turning her attention to the last member of the band, the drummer/manager, she promptly squealed and glomped the figure, trapping him in a death grip of a hug.

"PEIN!" she yelled happily, as loud as she could without being heard by the audience. And that was loud.

Said orange haired, piercing clad man looked over his shoulder with a scowl, wondering who would _dare _to touch him. Seeing the familiar shade of pink, a hint of a smile flashed across his face before settling back into the traditional emotionless facade.

"Sakura," he greeted her, patting her head mock-teasingly.

Sakura just laughed and swatted his hand away. Then she noticed that it had gone quiet... Veeery quiet. Peeping around Pein's frame, Sakura realized that all three bands, **Fallen Angels**, **Bijuu**, and **Akatsuki**, had gone silent and were looking at her and Pein. She stepped away from him a bit awkwardly, not liking everyone's attention on her.

"Guys, this is Pein. He was my neighbor when my dad transferred to Rain Country. Remember?" her friends nodded, remembering the year Sakura left on her father's business trip, only to return in their sophomore year of High school. The girls then made their way over to **Akatsuki **and mingled, the boys of **Bijuu** soon following. All but two of the members; Gaara and Naruto both hung back from the group, both for different reasons.

* * *

"Oi! Gaara. You okay?" Naruto asked the redhead who had a fear inducing glare fixed on Pein. His posture reminded Naruto of an animal who felt threatened and had his hackles risen.

Yup, if Gaara was a raccoon, that is _exactly _what he would look like at the moment, Naruto thought to himself.

"Duuuude....?" he asked again after getting no response from the red head whose gaze was now fixated on the pinkette. Surprisingly, Naruto put two and two together.

"Eh? Does this have something to do with Sak-"

"I'm fine." Gaara snapped back like a feral animal before regaining his composure. "Go get Shikamaru and Neji. We're on next." he ordered as he walked out behind the closed curtain.

Naruto just stood there and blinked, confused, before muttering "Geeze, ya' try to help a guy..." and following his best friend's order.

* * *

**TAHA!!!! THIS TOOK WAAAAAYYYY TOO LONG TO POST AND IM SORRY!!!! TT_TT really really sorry ****I have midterms this week, so I'll be posting in between studying!!! And to Kuro and Ai, I'M BACK!!!.... for a while ;) haha this is your authoress, singing out!**

**Please Review & Alert!**


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